A sea of change as consumers cruise to digital platforms

TRAVEL BULLETIN heard from Sefton Monk, co-founder of My Kind of Cruise, about the shifting demographic and booking methods that unlock huge potential for agents

On such shifts, Monk explained: "We are on the verge of a seismic shift in terms of the way people book cruise holidays. As someone who is under 40 and a cruise devotee - having been on over 20 holidays at sea - this evolution is very welcome.

"There is, quite rightly, a huge cruise market for retirees and older customers, and we shouldn’t seek to change that. An escape at sea is a fantastic holiday option and they appeal to people of all ages. But for too long, we have made assumptions about who is interested in booking a cruise."

The demographic shift is not the only one that agents should look to capitalise on: "Our lives are dominated by apps, and it’s simply not true to say these can’t play a part in the booking process. The only reason they don’t is because we haven’t utilised them properly and realised their full potential.

"Social media is also frequently written off as a lead generation tool. But why? Research suggests people are almost as comfortable using social media to find a holiday as they are to follow their friends."

"Despite being told the market wasn’t ready, I helped launch the first cruise app last year. Since My Kind of Cruise went live, we've had near-constant month-on-month growth – and having a customised, accessible app in place, backed by a strong social media presence, has been the bedrock of our success.

"In fact, our app has already been downloaded over 100,000 times, and has an average booking age of 35. 65% of downloads were generated via social media, the majority through TikTok. Although we have a significant under-40 audience, it’s also clear the app is used across the generations. Our oldest customer to book a sailing to date is 87."

Cruising's recovery post-pandemic has gifted the trade huge potential, and Monk is keen to get the trade on board: "I’d encourage agents to explore all the options out there and enhance their booking and enquiry capability wherever possible. We should never underestimate or write off the traditional means and methods, but now is the time to capitalise on the demand that is clearly out there." www.mykindofcruise.com

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